


Guilt is the Distance Between us

by EmmaFlash56



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Spider-Man - All Media Types, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Anxiety, Anxiety Attacks, BAMF Peter Parker, Coping, Endgame and infinity war can suck my-, F/M, Fluff, Hurt Peter Parker, Hurt/Comfort, Hurts So Good, I'm Sorry, Maybe - Freeform, My First Work in This Fandom, POV Peter Parker, POV Tony Stark, Panic Attacks, Parent Tony Stark, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Peter Parker Whump, Precious Peter Parker, Protective Tony Stark, Super Angst, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Whoops sorry kids, Whump, and make you cry, older Peter Parker, that night, this will kill you, tony and peter haven't seen eachother in 3 years
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-20
Updated: 2019-05-08
Packaged: 2019-06-13 10:04:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 9,567
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15362097
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EmmaFlash56/pseuds/EmmaFlash56
Summary: YOU’RE SAFE FROM ENDGAME SPOILERS HERETony and Peter haven’t spoken in three years. Three years seems like a lot, but to Tony, it seemed like just enough time to get over what had happened between the two. Or maybe it wasn’t enough time and Peter called him here for something other than mending their broken friendship. He hoped it wasn’t the latter, at least that’s what he expects Peter to have called him for. Then again, Peter did some things Tony would never have expected that night. The faithful night that both, Tony and Peter, wished never would have happened. But you can’t change something that's already done and over with.Or Tony and Peter haven't spoke in three years and they finally meet to hash it out, but they're both in for a lot more than they bargained for.





	1. Old Friends

**Author's Note:**

> This was something I have been thinking about for a long time and it is strictly NOT a one-shot. I teamed up with my friend Rachel on this about halfway through and I have a good feeling about it. This is posted on Fanfiction.net under the same username.

Tony and Peter haven’t spoken in three years. Three years seems like a lot, but to Tony, it seemed like just enough time to get over what had happened between the two. Or maybe it wasn’t enough time and Peter called him here for something other than mending their broken friendship. He hoped it wasn’t the latter, at least that’s what he expects Peter to have called him for. Then again, Peter did some things Tony would never have expected that night. The faithful night that both, Tony and Peter, wished never would have happened. But you can’t change something that's already done and over with. 

The door to the small Italian restaurant swung open and Tony stepped in. Italian was always Peter’s favorite. At least it was the last time they went out to eat together, but that was a long time ago. Tony fumbled with his phone in his pocket as his eyes scanned the restaurant for any sign of Peter. In the back was a young man, his back facing Tony. His hair was medium length with signs of curls, he had wider shoulders than Peter and seemed to fill his shirts better. The young man looked around and it took a second for Tony to realize that it was Peter. Tony walked over. 

"Peter?" He spoke up. Peter stood up and turned around, his motions a bit awkward. Oh god, this was weird.

"Mr. Stark," Peter said nodding. Tony went in for a handshake, but Peter hesitated and instead motioned towards the booth. The kid's voice wasn't much different, only a little deeper but still recognizable. Tony sat down in the small, hard booth, directly across from Peter. Had they really gotten so far apart that Peter wouldn’t even attempt a handshake anymore?

"Hey, kid," Tony said slowly. It was weird, the kid was taller than him now and he never realized how vulnerable the kid made him feel. It's like standing next to Steve, but the kids like six times stronger.

“So… how are you? I heard you graduated a couple months ago. Got any plans for college?”

“I don’t know, I got accepted into MIT,” Peter shrugged. He seemed as though he wasn’t prepared for the question. The night before had been when Peter’s guilt had built up to the point that the dam finally burst, causing him to call Tony. The call had been brief, as Peter didn’t know what had caused the call, but Tony had accepted, and now here they were. Neither of them really knew what they were doing. 

“You know, I went to MIT when I was fifteen. Great school by the way. Have you found a job yet?” Peters’ gaze quickly diverted, “Okay guess not. You know you always have an internship with me, right?” As soon as the words came out of his mouth, he could see Peter visibly tense. The reaction surprised Tony, he was finally getting somewhere, so he continued.

“Hey,” Tony said excitedly as he tried to get Peters’ attention again, “remember those days when you used to come to the lab and work on projects with me? Well… up until, ya know…” At this point, Tony had realized how much Peter had curled in on himself. His eyes seemed distant as if he was recounting a memory and his head hung low, leaving his curls to fall into his face. Tony reached his arm up and quickly set it on Peters' shoulder. “Hey, you alright, kid?”

As if a switch flipped, Peter was up and out of his seat. His actions had caused the table to rattle, drawing everyone's attention to the commotion. He brought one hand down onto the table to steady himself, bringing the other to his head. The ragged breaths coming quick. Suddenly the metal table gave way under the force of his grip, letting out a shrill and piercing noise. Peter heard this and his breaths only became quicker as he stumbled back, falling into a waitress. 

As Peter picked himself up to leave the restaurant, Tony got a glimpse of his expression. The pure fear and guilt painted on Peters face made his heartbreak. Only then did Tony realize what he said, ‘kid’, the last time he used that nickname had been on that night. All the talk about remembering the past must’ve triggered something in Peter, bringing up unwanted and painful memories. 

Tony gets up and watches as Peter continues to trip over tables and desperately clawing his way to the exit. He can’t help but follow him outside, the worry that had pooled in his chest only growing when he saw Peter stop for a moment, before falling to his knees. 

______________________________________________________________________

Peter was second-guessing his choices. He didn’t know what he was doing here, but all those thoughts were lost the moment he heard his name being called by the all too familiar voice. “Peter?” Oh no. He stood up, trying to make his motions seem more fluid, rather than the shocked state he was in. Oh god, Peter was taller than Tony, only making him feel worse. What was he thinking? He obviously hadn’t thought this through-

“Mr.Stark,” he nodded. Then he noticed the hand that Tony had reached out for a handshake, it was the same one that Peter had messed up all those years ago. He could still see the small tremble of his hand from the nerve damage Peter had caused. Instead of grabbing Tony's hand, he opted for motioning to the booth.  
They both began to take their seats, and Peter noted the poorly concealed disappointment on Tony’s face. “Hey, kid,” Tony said cautiously as if he was scared that Peter would snap any second. Though, whatever Tony was going to say was lost in his thoughts.

They sat down and Tony spoke up again. “So… how are you? I heard you graduated a couple months ago. Got any plans for college?” Peter had applied for colleges and been accepted into a couple big schools but honestly these days, that was the least of his worries. He didn’t want to disappoint Tony anymore so he instead replied with “I don’t know, I got accepted into MIT.”

The next few sentences didn’t reach Peter’s ears, as he was lost in thought. He vaguely heard Tony talking about how great MIT was and so on. He caught Tony mentioning something about a job, but Peter was caught up in thoughts about the past. He was pulled back to the present at the word ‘internship’. Peter didn’t flinch, but he couldn’t help but tense up. He tried to maintain a calm front but Tony just pressed on, “Hey, remember those days when you used to come to the lab and work on projects with me? Well… up until, ya know…”

Peter started to panic internally at the mention of that night and it really, really didn’t help things at all. He was trying to not break down in the middle of this restaurant and Tony bringing the horrible memories back was only perpetuating the oncoming panic attack. 

“Hey, you alright kid?” That sentence coupled with the fact that Tony had brought his hand up, finally flung Peter over the edge. ‘Kid’, the old nickname repeating over and over in the back of Peters' head. Then suddenly there was a hand on his shoulder. No, nobody could touch him, not here, not now. Everything kind of devolved into a blur, and before he could really think about what was happening, he was up and out of his seat. He could feel all of the eyes resting on him, and he put a hand down and tried to steady himself on the table, gripping it hard. He brought the other hand to his head because god, it hurt so much.

He was visibly recounting a moment from that night and he began to clench his fist even harder. The table suddenly lets out a loud creak that almost resembled a scream. The sudden realization that he had bent the metal made Peter stumble back into a nearby waitress. He had to get out. He couldn’t be here. Not around Tony. Not around these innocent people. Not when he has so much strength, but so little control.

He picked himself up off the ground in a desperate attempt to get out of the small restaurant. Peter finally reached the door and was hit by a large wave of dizziness. He almost immediately fell to the ground, grabbing his knees in an attempt to feel something real. Something solid. Something other than an incoherent thought. Then he felt a hand reach for his shoulder.


	2. Broken Silences

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The aftermath of Peter's panic attack.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm honestly so sorry this took so long to get out. I will try to get more on a schedule, but I always say that and it never happens. Life has just been getting in the way and I'm striving to not procrastinate as much. Anyways enjoy!

Tony swung the door to the restaurant open and stepped out quickly when he saw Peter fall to the ground. The sight of him on the floor clutching at his knees like they were a lifeline made Tony sick. His instincts kicked in and he immediately went to grab Peters shoulder in comfort, realizing too late that it was the wrong thing to do. Instead of leaning into it, like Tony had expected, Peter immediately pulled back from the touch as though it burned him.

“No don’t touch me! I don’t want to hurt you,” Peter forced out, his words wavering. Shaking hands reached up to grab his head as though it was protecting him from all the horrible thoughts.

“You’re not going to hurt me, Parker.” Tony knew it was a blatant lie, but he didn’t really know what else to say. As he crouched next to the suffering kid, he fumbled with his hands, not sure what to do but also not wanting to make contact with him.

“Yes, I will! It’s not like I haven’t before... remember? ” The air crackles with even more tension as a heavy silence settles over the two. Tony remembers the night as if it happened the day before.

 

* * *

  


_That night Peter had spent with his friends, so he was a little late to the movie with Pepper, Happy, and Tony. Suddenly a ‘ding’ came from the elevator, revealing Peter and Happy. Tony ignored the two as they walked in, continuing his conversation with Pepper about Star Wars, which Peter coaxed him into watching._

_“I mean, how do these guys get away with being so reckless? Look at the mess they’re making...it’s ridiculous.”_

_“Says you, the one who literally flew a nuke into a wormhole,” Pepper quipped. Wow, Tony was not expecting that._

_“Well, what else did you expect me to do? Let everyone in New York, possibly beyond, die?” Tony said, half-jokingly. He felt a tightness start to form in my chest at the memory of the trauma. Crap, he can’t deal with emotions. Thank goodness Peter decided to join at that second or else it would have gotten really uncomfortable._

_“I’m pretty sure I agree with Pepper on this, that was pretty crazy…” Tony turned towards Peter and opened his mouth to say something in his defense, but Happy so rudely interrupted him. He shouted from the kitchen, where he was popping some popcorn, “It was dangerous Tony, but you did save tons of lives.”_

_Tony rolled his eyes, “You’re all ganging up on me now?” He turned to Peter with a half-smirk on my face. “Honestly, you’re one to talk, you could’ve died during that ferry fiasco a little while ago-”_

_Peter groaned in annoyance. But being the prideful kid he was, Tony knew he would have some witty comeback. “I also didn’t build a robot intent on destroying all of humanity, think about that.” The end came out with a bite. There he is. But as Tony turned to him, he could tell they weren’t just joking around anymore. Pent-up regret and anger were bubbling to the surface. Peters annoyed-beyond-belief face slowly morphing into one of rage._

_“Well, I’m not the one who got a building dropped on him,” Tony reprimanded. “Not to mention taking on a villain that clearly was too much for you to handle.”_

_Tony must’ve overstepped some boundaries because the kid's face just went blank, he couldn’t tell if he was angry or sad. He reached a hand out to rest it on his shoulder, in an attempt to calm him down a little. Peter drew back with a flinch and met my eyes with his own, the burning rage and hatred swimming in the previously wide-doe-eyes Tony loved so much. Silence mingled with the new but intense tension that filled the air. “Kid, I-”_

_Tony was sharply cut off when Peter grabbed his outstretched hand and squeezed as hard as he could. He could hear and feel every bone in my hand break, but that’s not what Tony was focused on. He couldn’t stop looking into his eyes… they were filled with a sick sense of satisfaction. Tony didn’t know what’s causing this, but this isn’t the same Peter he knew. The Peter he knew, would never do something like this… or would he?_

 

* * *

  


“Let’s get you somewhere you can calm down,” Tony spoke in a soft voice, trying to coax Peter off the cold, unforgiving ground and into the car. He tentatively places a hand on Peter’s back, and without much of a reaction from the boy, guides him to the backseat of the car. Closing the door, he gets in the driver’s seat and starts the journey to the Tower.

Looking in the rearview mirror back at the ‘kid’, Tony takes the time to really think about how much Peter has changed. It’s crazy how much one experience can change someone. Peter went from a bright-eyed, chatty boy who never shut up about scientific theories or bike robberies to a young man who has been burdened with the fear of himself, shying away from everyone for the fear that he will hurt them… again. The drive was silent. If it was because Peter had fallen asleep, exhausted from the episode earlier, or if he couldn't find it in himself to talk... Tony wasn’t sure. The passing lights of the city became a blur when Tony delved deeper into thought, almost driving on autopilot now.

After a few minutes, Peter started to shuffle in the back seat. His breathing was shallow, Tony realized, probably because of the way he had slept. Quicker than expected, Peter shot up in a panic.

“Calm down Peter, you’re alright,” Tony spoke softly, attempting to comfort the boy before he had the chance to fall back into his panicked state. He could almost immediately see the way Peter’s eyes diverted to the floor of the car as though it was the most interesting thing in the world.  “So… um, how are things with May?” Tony hesitantly questioned. He’d been trying to make conversation, simply because of the fact that Peter looked like he wanted to jump out of the car.

  
“It’s, uh...  it’s been rough,” Peter mumbled, his arms wrapped around himself, not in defense, but rather to comfort himself. Tony was left with the familiar want to wrap his arms around the boy.

  
“How so?” He asked, coaxing Peter on.

“I haven’t talked to her in a while.” His answers were short and to the point, but they were something.

“How come?” Tony found the comment worrying, May was Peter’s second half. _What happened?_  

“Well,” Peter paused, seemingly noticing Tony's subtle ploy to get him to open up “It’s complicated.”

Tony hums in acknowledgment and then the car is enveloped in an uncomfortable silence. The ambiance of car honks and New York’s nightlife buzzed all around them, creeping into the silence that’s gripped the two passengers. As they turned around corners, weaving through the other cars, Peter swayed in the back seat, seemingly in his own world as he looked out the window. His eyes were just as glossy as the glass he peered out of.

A slight pang of guilt made its home in Tony’s heart when he looked in the rearview mirror and back at the ‘kid’ who was obviously grappling with himself internally. The bright New York lights died out as they pulled into the underground parking garage, and the car coming to a halt when they parked. Tony sat in his seat for a moment, thinking. He wanted to do something,  _anything,_  to reach out to his kid and try to uncover the bright and carefree Peter Parker he once knew. But as he glanced back at the kid when he got out of the driver’s seat, he knew it would be a long journey to find that joy that the kid had before. He saw a million problems and worries swimming behind the kid’s eyes, Peter not even have noticed that they were parked. Tony knocked slightly on the car door, pulling Peter out of whatever funk he had fallen into after their short conversation came to an end.

He opened the door for the miserable looking teenager. In that moment when Tony saw the kid drag himself out of the seat and to stand outside the car with his eyes looking anywhere but to meet Tony’s own, he decided that he would tear the world apart to bring back the kid he once knew. He’d do anything to place the happiness and youthful-innocence back into that kid’s eyes. They’d both fucked up, but Tony Stark was going to do something right for the first time in his life and set things straight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oof, the feels fo reals. Comments make everything better and help me to keep going!


	3. Unexpected Revelations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony and Peter return to the compound. Their almost happy reunion is interrupted by something Peter didn't want Tony knowing...

“It’s probably weird after not being here for so long,” Tony comments as the two step into the living room of the tower. Where _ that night  _ happened. This probably wasn’t the best place to bring Peter, but Tony didn’t have anywhere else nearby. 

“Yeah… it is.” Peter hesitated, his eyes shining with unshed tears, but more of the nostalgically-good tears. “It hasn’t changed a bit.”

“No, I guess not,” Tony chuckled, “Why don’t you go take a shower while I get you some new clothes.” 

Peter nods and starts heading towards the bathroom. Tony watches for a second before he heads off to Peter’s old room. God… he hasn’t been in this room in at least a year. It’s almost eerie how the bed is still unmade and clothes still lie in the hamper. Almost like nothing’s changed. Tony shakes off the thoughts and pulls out a pair of sweatpants and t-shirt, both used to be a bit oversized, but could probably fit Pete fine now. After a few minutes, the door opens.

“Hey, remember this room?” Tony hands the clothes to Peter and turns around so he can get dressed. Of course, Peter remembers this room. He’s just trying to make conversation.

“I do, yeah. I still remember that there’s a hole in the wall behind this poster,” Peter chuckles as he pulls his shirt over his head, “You can turn around by the way.” 

Tony turns around to see the signature Peter “Gleaming-Eyes” Parker smile that he missed so much. He missed his kid. This may not be the same Peter as three years ago, but he’ll take it, burden and all. Before he stares too long, he gets up from where he was sitting on the bed and walks across the room to the poster with a cheesy science pun about not trusting atoms. He peels back the poster and sure enough, there was a good three-inch hole right in the center. 

“How did you even do that?” Tony laughs incredulously. 

Peter laughs again at his expression. “Ned and I were in here and we were trying to build a Millenium Falcon Lego set. I had to use scissors to open the box and it just wouldn’t open. So, I pulled harder, the tape snapped, and it sent the scissors flying across the room and into the wall. We laughed forever about that. Good times…” 

The smile that was on his face had faded more into a phantom smile at this point. Ned and Peter were inseparable. Tony remembers once how Ned forced Peter to have a Star-Wars marathon. He did this after hearing about Peter calling at-ats ‘Giant Walky thingies’ and Hoth the ‘Snow Planet’. Ned soon came to figure out that Peter had only ever seen one of the Star-Wars movies, hence Peter being forced to watch all of them.

“Wow, you guys are quite the pair, aren’t you?” Tony commented, moving to sit back on the bed.

“Yeah, we were. We don’t talk anymore, though. I’ve kept up with him through social media. He seems to be doing well,” Peter says, brushing it off as if it’s nothing.  Tony wasn’t dumb, though. He knew Peter was upset about not talking to Ned anymore and just didn’t want to talk about his emotions.

“Why don’t you guys talk anymore?”

“I don’t really want to talk about it.” Ah, there’s the phrase that’s so familiar on Peter’s tongue.

“Come on Pete, you’re gonna have to tell me something,” Tony pleads because Peter needs to talk to someone or this whole situation will eat him up.

“No, just drop it. We don’t talk anymore, it’s that simple.” His words coming out a bit harsher and demanding. What Tony doesn’t see is the clenching and unclenching of Peter’s fists.

“No, it isn’t simple. First May and now Ned. Hell, you haven’t talked to me in the past three years. Have you talked to anyone?” Tony’s words come out in accusation, but worry laces them. This must have thrown Peter over the edge because suddenly his voice had risen to a yell.

“Yes, I have talked to people, and I don’t have to tell you anything! You don’t have the right to just demand things from me. Yeah, we may have spent a lot of time together and you gave me a lot of things, but that doesn’t mean you can just come back into my life and force me to tell you things! You’re not my d-” Peter stopped abruptly, his eyes widening in fear. Suddenly, Peter turned, still staying silent, heading straight for the door. 

“Hey, what are-?” Tony tried to intervene.

“I’m sorry, I have to go.” 

“No, wait, Pete. Please don’t leave, I’m sorry,” Tony pleads. Why did Peter suddenly look like he’d seen a ghost? Did he say something? 

As if it was a motor skill, Tony was out of his spot on the bed. He followed Peter at a quick pace down the hall. All Tony could hear, after Peter rounded a corner, was the door to the bathroom slam shut. When he came to the bathroom door, he put his ear up to it. It was silent. So many scenarios started racing through Tony’s mind.

“F.R.I.D.A.Y. open the door!” The door unlocked quickly and Tony burst in, thinking Peter had passed out. But what he didn’t expect to see was Peter lying on the floor with a large, green pill in his hand.

“Peter… what is that?” The pill definitely did not look normal.  

“It’s just Lorazepam. It’s supposed to calm me down so that I don’t… ya know,” Peter implied, obviously referring to his previous emotional outburst.

“No, that doesn’t look like Lorazepam. Let me see it.” Peter yanks his hand away. “Come on Peter, let me see it!” 

Tony managed to get a hold of Peter’s arm, but the kid was stronger. He managed to throw the pill into his mouth. Suddenly, Peter’s pupils dilated and then returned back to normal size. The sight sent chills down Tony’s spine.

“Dammit, Peter. That’s not Lorazepam. Who knows what you’re putting in your body… you could die.” He didn’t want to think about that, but the kid was being reckless. How long has Peter been taking these?

“Well, then, to hell with it!” Peter shouted, throwing his hands up, almost sounding as if he was drunk.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”  _ You don’t really mean that? _ went unspoken.

“This pill calms me down. At least if I die, it won’t be while hurting anyone,” Peter blubbered, lowering his head in defeat. 

“Pete, that was one ti-” 

“No, you weren’t the only one. It happened two more times after that,” Peter revealed. 

“Who… who else did you do it to?” Tony’s voice is small. The _Great Tony Stark’s_ voice is small. Because no way could that have happened two more times. No way somebody could have survived that. _No_ \- Tony cut himself off- _Peter wouldn’t go as far as killing._   
“The second one was Ned and MJ and the third one was May.” 

Why is Peter just now telling him this? He refused to just minutes ago, but now he’s just- 

“When?” Tony blurted out.

“What?” Peter looks up, confused, and Tony can see the haunted look now present in Peter’s eyes.  

“When- When did the other two times happen?”  _ The Great Tony Stark  _ never stutters, but something about this whole thing just scares him. Maybe he hadn’t gotten over the trauma of what happened.

“Ned and MJ happened three years ago. May happened just a year ago. I didn’t take the pill the night that I fought with May. My stupid anger issues just  _ had _ to get in the way. I should’ve listened to the doctor when-” 

“Wait wait wait- what doctor?” Tony puts his hand up, stopping the kid. 

The two were still on the bathroom floor, neither touching one another. But the hand seemed to have frightened Peter because he answered quickly.

“My friend Ethan White's dad. He took me to um… the hospital for mental issues in Southern Brooklyn. Said I had anger issues and gave me the pill,” Peter sputtered.

Tony thought this was shit. Peter obviously doesn’t have anger issues because the events happen two years apart from each other. There’s something more going on that’s beyond just Tony and Peter. This obviously was making Peter manipulative because Tony knows just how stubborn the kid really is. Tony knows he’ll regret it, but he uses this manipulative state to his advantage.

“Pete, there’s no mental hospital in- Do you have another pill?” Peter nodded, timidly handing Tony the pill. Tony needed to send a sample to Bruce to see if they could track where they came from.

“Ok, thank you. Do you happen to know where May is? I need to speak with her.”

Does May even know? Does Peter even know where she is considering they haven’t talked? How much has Tony missed?

“Yeah, I do. I’ll take you there,” Peter offered as he pulled himself off the floor.

“Is she not still living in your Queens apartment?” Tony wondered aloud.

“No.” Peter gets out his phone and literally  _ orders an Uber,  _ not letting Tony see the address _. _ So Tony assumed this wasn’t somewhere they could go as Tony Stark and a kid, but rather Peter Parker and his… mentor. Of course, the Uber driver recognized him though and with a quick autograph and picture, they were off.

The drive was silent, apart from the pitter-patter of the rain on the windows. Eventually, the light of the city had faded from the night sky as the car drove out of the city. That’s when Tony saw it…

 

_ Calvary Cemetery, Queens, New York _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok hi! I'm alive! SO sooooo much happened with this chapter. I completely rewrote the plot so that's fun. I hope you enjoyed this giant blob of dialogue that I whipped up. First off, I don't know if there is or isn't a mental hospital in Southern Brooklyn. Second, did you like the little nod to Calvary Cemetery? It's where Gwen Stacy is buried in The Amazing Spider-Man (or I at least think it is). Oh also, silly of me to forget, I present another dead May fic! People just love murdering her. Also, before you all speculate... no, venom is not in this story. Even though I love venom stories, this is not one. Anyway, please leave comments! I realllllly want to hear your theories.
> 
> Also I didn't proofread well, so this may be fixed sometime soon.


	4. May?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony finds out what happened between Peter and May.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooooooo what's happening? I've been avoiding my responsibilities, but what's new? Anyway, enjoy this! I wrote it in one sitting, its really short, and kinda all over the place. Also 3000 hits and almost 100 kudos is amazing, thank you so much!

“Peter…” Tony began. _There’s no way Peter killed her. No. No. He can’t accept that. Not_ Peter Parker _. Not Puppy-eyed-Peter._

“It’s all my fault,” Peter said, his voice seeming almost emotionless. Accepting maybe.

“No-”

“Yes, Tony! I lashed out at her! I was angry and if she hadn’t- oh my god- if _I_ hadn’t yelled at her, she wouldn’t have left.” Peter started crying at this point.

“Wait- what?”

 

* * *

 

_“Hey Peter, dinner’s ready,” May announced through the apartments. To be completely honest, she was really worried about Peter. All she knows is he doesn’t talk to Tony, Ned, or MJ anymore, but he won’t tell her what happened. On some occasions, he will rush from the house and say he has Spider-Man duties. The only problem is, the suit is still there when he leaves and Spider-Man hasn’t been active in about two years._

_“Okay, I’m coming,” Peter yelled out._

_Suddenly, Peter stepped into the hallway in sweatpants and a plain shirt. He looked the most normal and calm that May had seen him in years. He had recently been drowning himself in schoolwork. May barely saw him anymore, except for dinners. Now that May thought about it, Peter looks more grown up and the mom side of her doesn’t want him to leave._

_Peter went to sit at the table, eying the_ thai _suspiciously. “What's the special occasion?” He looked up at her with that smile that she so desperately missed._

_“Nothing much, just that I got your valedictorian letter and I scheduled a gown fitting for you,” May waved it off like it was nothing, pulling off her best faux unimpressed face._

_“No way, that's amazing!” Peter jumped out of his seat._

_“I know, I’m so proud of you honey,” She praised as she joined him in a big hug, something she has to cherish nowadays._

_“I couldn’t have done it without you and Ben.”_

  
_“I mean, I’m sure you could’ve. It would have just been a little harder,” May smiled against Peter. She heard him chuckle, but she also felt dampness on her shoulder. Slowly she separated herself from him, only to find his eyes wet. Instinct caused her to reach up and cup his cheek in her hand._

_“Oh honey, why are you crying,” May said, concern lacing her voice. He just looked so… broken. May never wanted to see him in this state._

_Peter hiccuped before looking up to May. “It’s just that… Ben won’t be able to see me graduate because of me,” he mumbled, bowing his head._

_Peter had told May about the whole thing once she found out about him being Spider-Man. He always insisted that he could have done better, but she always told him that he didn’t pull the trigger so it wasn’t in his control. May had thought that they had gotten over this, considering it had been so long since they talked about it._

_“No Peter, I thought we talked about this. There’s nothing you could have d-”_

_“No May! Don’t you see? There is so much I could have done! So much I_ didn’t _do,” Peter snapped. His whole demeanor changing in seconds. He stood in a defensive position, chest heaving, possibly on the verge of a panic attack. May took a few steps back. She knew Peter wouldn’t hurt her, but she was also conscious of how much power he held. And he wasn’t in the best state of mind._

_“Peter. Benjamin. Parker. You do not go around talking like that! Ben wouldn’t blame you, he-he wouldn’t. You’re not a murderer! And if Ben were here-”_

_“WELL BEN’S NOT HERE! HE’S DEAD, MAY!” Peter yelled as a chair made contact with the wall across the apartment, causing splinters to fly everywhere. May unconsciously backed into the counter as her eyes filled to the brim with tears. She had never seen Peter like this. It was… scary. Slowly he started backing away from her, looking between her eyes and the broken chair. His face started to contort into one of fear and regret._

_“May_.. _I-”_

_May hardened her jaw. “No Peter. I can’t do this right now. I’m gonna go out and by the time I get back, you better have cleaned this up and gotten your act together,” May demanded. What Peter couldn’t see was the tremor of Mays' hands and the speed of her heart, for which she was grateful._

* * *

 

“Then she left and she was gone for a few hours. That’s when I got the call. She had been stabbed by some random mugger. She wouldn’t have left if I didn’t yell at her,” Peter concluded.

Tony simply can’t wrap his head around how much he missed. How much the kid has lost. He doesn’t understand why Peter suddenly started having outbursts one day, what the pill does, just everything in general. He inevitably decided that he should probably eat and sleep before he tries to process all this. Plus, Pete probably couldn’t handle him having a breakdown on top of his already starting one.

“I’m so sorry Peter. Maybe we should go. So… where are you thinking for food?” Tony Stark, emotional-bottle-upper-extraordinaire, asked. Not Tony Stark, the damn-near-previous-father of this kid (man?) next to him. So much has happened in such a short amount of time. And Tony doesn’t like emotions or fast-paced things. So… he’ll avoid it for now.

Peter chuckled, “Great way to approach things, Mr. Stark. How about we go to Wendy’s and get frosties. I could use one of those right now.”

“Same, kid, same.”

 

The two had returned to the tower, through Uber of course. The ride was light-hearted, them both wanting to get away from their emotions. They both start playing the Wii, Peter being baby toad and Tony being Waluigi. Tony got angry as he ran into yet another wall. Peter just chuckled, seeing as he was in first place… again… and he was on the ceiling.

“UGH! Why won’t this stupid kart turn?!”

“Why did you even choose manual drift? And Waluigi- really?” Peter laughed the first real laugh he’s had in years. He was just glad to get the whole May situation off of his chest. Maybe this is his road to redemption.

“Um… excuse me?” Tony faked a shocked expression, “Waluigi needs more recognition. He’s not even in the new tennis game! Plus, his facial hair is almost as good as mine.” Tony laughed as he pulled out his phone and accepted defeat. “I’m gonna tweet about it and maybe we can start a revolution. Or I could buy Nintendo, but revolutions are more fun.”

Peter was laughing so hard at this point that he almost fell off the ceiling.

“I’m the next Gandhi!”

Aaaaand there goes Peter, falling off the ceiling and right into the Wendy’s trash. And Tony may or may not have gotten a slow-mo video of it happening. The two were laughing so hard, it was much like the old days. Warmth bloomed in Peters' chest- and no, it’s not asthma. He turned to Tony after his fit of laughter died down a little.

“Thank you, Tony,” he chuckled. The infamous Parker smile spreading across his face.

“Woah kid, did you hit your head? You’ve never called me Tony. Also, you’re welcome for starting a revolution,” Tony teased, both of them knowing really want was thanking him for. God, he missed this kid so much.

 Just then, Tony felt a buzz come from his phone. It was a voicemail... from Bruce.

 “ _Hey Tony, I got the test results back and I think you need to call me. Soon.”_

_*click*_

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tony and Peters Tweets are on my tumblr because I cant figure out how you put personal photos on here.  
> https://www.tumblr.com/blog/emmaflash56
> 
> Okay so the fluff at the end was really out of place, I know. I just felt like this story was so broody and constantly stabbing you in the heart. So I decided to put a little band-aid over your stab wound. I hope you enjoyed it. I've been super lazy with this and I've rewatched Lucifer like 18 times so that's fun. Something is better than nothing. ALSO, should I bring in the other Avengers? I feel like it's weird to leave them out. 
> 
> I don't own Marvel... or Sony... or Wendy's... or Nintendo


	5. Mixed Feelings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Someone Peter hasn't seen in a while comes back. It's... well, it's confusing, to say the least.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's a lot of science in this chapter. I'm a fourteen-year-old in advanced high school Biology. I'm not the most qualified, but I researched enough and read some thesis's, so hopefully, that was enough. But if it's wrong, then I'll just call it comic book science.

 

Eventually, Peter had gotten up onto the couch, falling asleep almost instantly. Tony was silently grateful for this. Now he can finally call Bruce back about the pill. The damn pill that he had a terrible gut feeling about.

Looking down at his phone, flashing 1:34 am. He clicked call. _Ring ring ring. Once, Twice, Three times. God come on Bruce, pick up the phone. Click._

“Hello?” A croaked voice said over the phone.

“Bruce! Oh, thank God! I- um- What’s in the pill?” The anticipation getting the best of him.

“Jeez Tony, I called you two hours ago. But… if you insist on knowing,” he sighed tiredly, “I guess I’ll meet you in the lab in five minutes.”

“Ok, I’ll see you then.” Tony hung up the phone and dashed for the elevator. He immediately demanded F.R.I.D.A.Y. to take him to the lab.

 

Bruce arrived a few minutes after Tony had gotten there. He was wearing fleece pajama bottoms with Thor's face, of all things. The bags under his eyes weren’t from sleep, but from something Tony recognized in himself. A hint of fear mixed with worry. This wasn’t going to be fun. Then, without a word, Bruce grabbed his tablet and projected the schematics onto a hologram. Tony looked in disbelief at the results.

“Is that..?” Tony began.

“Acetaminophen yeah. I was confused at first too. I mean, how could a pain killer do that to him? But… then I did some research. Apparently, some people have had mental reactions to pain killers. More like, people have noticed that they’re far more emotional when taking high doses.” Bruce's hands going wild, allowing Tony to see the cogs turning in his head. He pushed away the formula only to reveal a load of research papers.

“Peter may take high doses of certain medicines, but in this case, it’s not very helpful. The high doses of acetaminophen are mixed with something else to balance it out. The high doses would normally not be able to be disposed of by the pancreas. It would take effect better than normal doses, but his metabolism doesn’t match the speed of his pancreas, so normally periodic medicines would wilt away his pancreas.”

Tony raised his eyebrows in question, “So… what does that mean? I don’t speak squishy science, Bruce. I’m an engineer.”

“Yes, I know. I was getting there,” Bruce waved him off, “This means that normally this drug would be very dangerous to him because of how regularly he takes it. But, because it’s mixed with something I don’t recognize, it’s managed to metabolize at a slow rate. This allows it to be completely harmless to him… physically. But painkillers can have an extremely emotional effect on some people when given in high doses. And Peters’ doses are off the chart.”

Tony thinks he got the jist of what Bruce was saying. It just makes Peter emotionally vulnerable. But why? If he has ‘anger issues’, then wouldn’t vulnerability make it worse? But wait… he doesn’t have anger issues. “So this means that it’s making Peter susceptible to what people say?”

“Yeah. It’s almost as if someone is trying to make him wallow in his emotions. Feel the guilt more I guess,” Bruce hypothesized. He gave Tony a sad look before swiping the articles away.

Tony couldn’t believe that someone would want to do that to a child. To make him feel more responsible for something he didn’t have control over. Why does Peter even lash out like he did? The pill makes him calm down, but what makes him angry?

“Where is the pill from?” Tony questioned quickly, anxiety dripping off his words.

“Well, due to the strange chemical, best I can tell… a back street alley.” Bruce started to notice Tony’s heaving. His hands were going wild and his eyes were filled with anger, but buried deep was plead.

“Dammit!” Tony yelled, smacking the coffee mug off his desk and into the wall. “The poor kid is suffering! There’s no right way for him! He either doesn’t take the pill and lashes out or takes it and feels intense guilt! And even if he didn’t take it, he would lash out and then take it again and feel even worse! I’m gonna kill the bastard who did this to him.”

Tony was seething at this point. Bruce was whispering ‘I know, we’ll get them’ like a mantra. Slowly, Bruce put his hand on Tony’s shoulder and led him to the couch in the corner of the lab. Tony was being fueled by his pent up emotions, causing him to hyperventilate and fall onto the couch. He thanked a thousand thanks that Peter didn’t see him like this. All Tony could feel was Bruce's small circles being rubbed on his back. And before he knew it, he was out like a light.

 

Peter woke to a blinding light streaming through the floor-to-ceiling windows. The smell of fresh bacon and pancakes kissing his senses. Memories of the night before came flooding back to him, summoning a genuine smile. He was the happiest he’d been in a long time. He then looked up to find Tony in the kitchen, smiling slyly at him.

“Good morning, sleeping beauty. You slept a whole eleven hours.”

“Wow, that’s the most sleep I’ve gotten in years,” Peter groaned as he sat up. If worry flashed on Tony's face for a second, Peter didn’t notice. He stood up and headed towards the dining table. The sight of the pancakes and bacon making his mouth water. He managed to get in a few bites before he heard a familiar voice.

“Hey Tony, have you heard back from-” The voice stopped abruptly as they made eye contact with Peter. Happy. His eyes turned to Tony. “What the _hell_ is he doing here?” Happy pointed an accusing finger at Peter and started stalking towards Tony. Teeth bared.

“Happy calm down,” that’s when he started walking towards Peter, threat on his heels. “Come on- calm down. Happy!” At this point, Peter had stood up, standing about an inch taller than Happy now. He kept his head level, but Tony could see the pain rushing back into his eyes. The eyes that he had seen so joyous just moments ago.

Then, the world seemed to go in slow motion as Happy’s fist connected with Peter’s jaw. Peter didn’t flinch at all, just adjusting his jaw and looking down in shame. Happy brought his hand back as he hissed slightly in pain.

“Happy!” Tony cried out in shock.

“Tony you have to be insane to bring him back into your life! I know it was years ago, but that doesn’t make up for what he did! I mean-” his eyes started to water, “I loved you kid. I had _so much_ faith in you, but you ripped that away from me.” An abundance of emotions flickered across his gaze as the memories of _that night_ hit him full force.

 

* * *

 

_Happy was laughing at the bickering in the room over. Whether Peter realized it, he was a big part of Tony’s life and, dare he say, his own. He had captured the hearts of everyone in this building. Suddenly, Happy had been pulled out of his stupor by a crunch and large cry from Tony._

_He rushed into the other room, thinking maybe… well, he didn’t know, but what he saw was something he never thought he’d see. Peter with Tony's hand in a vice-like grip, Tony using his opposite hand to try and pull it away, whimpers of pain escaping him. That wasn’t what chilled him to the core though. Instead, it was Peter’s eyes. There was a dark glint of satisfaction, only being expressed further by the snarl on his lips. So unlike the boy he’d grown to love._

_The boy he’d grown to love would never hurt a fly. He was annoying sometimes, sure, but he was a good kid. He saved even the worst of criminals from death. He was obsessed with science and was a genius that could rival Tony. He was the wittiest superhero out there. He was so many things, but he wasn’t this._

_Happy shook himself out of the daze and ran to pull Peter off of Tony. He knew it wouldn’t be easy, but he didn’t expect to get thrown like a ragdoll. Peter’s other arm had come up and grabbed the front of his shirt before pushing with an insane amount of force. Sending Happy flying into the wall, hitting his head. Peters eyes never came off Tony though. Pepper stood up quickly and ran into the other room. Good. As long as she was out of the way._

_“Peter! Let go of my hand! What are you doing kid?” Tony’s eyes were filled with fear. Someone he should have never been afraid of was Peter. Before Tony could say something again, Peter let go of his hand. Tony backed up and got as far away as possible from him._

_“I- I don’t- what?” Peter looked around, confused. He seemed to have broken free from the vicious trance he was in. That was… until his eyes locked onto Pepper in the other room. The look in his eyes came back full force._

* * *

  


“I know, Happy. I’m sorry. I know sorry won’t ever cut it, but still,” Peter looked up at him, instantly looking like the fifteen-year-old he used to be, “I should probably go.”

Peter passed Happy briskly before he stopped him by grabbing his arm. Peter almost flinched as Happy swirled around to face the kid. Instead of punching him though, Happy pulled the kid into a hug. He started sobbing as he buried his face in Peters' shoulder. After the shock, Peter returned the hug. Happy murmured into Peter’s shoulder, “Are you really coming back, Pete?”

Tony just stood there in shock, “Well this is the most confusing interaction I’ve ever witnessed.”

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow omg. I wrote for four hours and only got 1.6k words. I guess it's been one of those days where you just can't word it right. I literally went back and rewrote so many paragraphs. Welp, enjoy this intense amount of emotions. Also, I imagine the living room and kitchen like my old best friends house because she legit lived in a mansion and I don't think I'll ever get rid of that imagery.


	6. Impossible

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony, Peter and Happy go out to lunch, but it doesn’t go exactly as planned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here ya go! I’m so shocked by the feedback I’m getting. Like so many kudos and hits! I love you guys so much oml!

Peter, Happy, and Tony decided to go out to lunch to catch up. Whether Tony liked it or not, he wasn’t as close to Peter as before. A lot can change in three years, especially in this scenario. Hell, Tony didn’t even know if Peter was still going out as Spiderman. Is he in a relationship? Where does he even live at such a young age? These were the types of questions he was determined to have answered. 

Instead of going to a fancy restaurant like Tony had suggested, Happy and Peter insisted they go to a hole-in-the-wall deli. Unfortunately, it wasn’t Delmars like Peter had hoped, but the people were kind nevertheless. The warm smell of the bread and the authenticity of the wood paneled walls and jokes on the wall brought back the best memories of decathlon team lunches. 

As the three walked in, the bells attached to the handle jingled a sweet melody. A young brunette woman looked up from the cash register. She had a bright smile that reached her eyes. For some reason she looked familiar to both Tony and Peter. “Happy! It’s so good to see you,” her eyes turned to Tony, “and nice to meet you Tony, I’ve heard so much about you!” 

“Hi Millie,” Happy motioned to her as he turned to the two others “Tony, Peter, this is my niece. You know, my sister Darla’s daughter. Actually Peter, I think she's around your age.” Peter and Millie's eyes connected and while Peter was unsure, Millie’s eyes lit up. Her face morphed into exasperation.

“Wait- Peter? Peter Parker?” Peter nodded his head, still slightly confused, “Do you remember me from Junior Prom? I’m Millie Smith! I went with Ethan White. He introduced me to you because we’re both science nerds.”

“Oh my gosh! I totally remember you! How are you?” Peter lit up as he recognized the girl. Happy just looked confused.

“Wait- so you know each other?”

They both nodded quickly. Happy’s starting to see why this Ethan kid introduced the two. Peter smiled his famous smile, “Yeah, it’s a crazy small world. How’s Ethan doing? I haven’t talked to him since graduation.” Peter may not have had Ned and MJ in those last years, but that didn’t mean he didn’t talk to people.

Peter had met Ethan when he moved to Midtown in Freshman year. They weren’t close really, but he was on the Decathlon Team with Peter. He always laughed at Peter’s jokes, which Peter of course appreciated. He was just an overall good guy. He did hang out a lot around Ned and MJ though. So they must have talked about Peter to him, which is probably why he was nice to him. Even though things ended kind of abruptly with the three, it didn’t mean that Ned and MJ hated Peter. It was probably more worry.

Millie’s brows furrowed as if to say ‘I totally forgot about that until now’. “Oh yeah, he moved away. It was like right after he graduated. It was kinda weird, but he just said that his dad had been waiting to take a job till after he graduated. He moved to like Kansas or something.” She ended with a shrug before her bright smile came back. “Well what can I get you three?”

* * *

 

The three sat down at one of the corner tables, next to the hanging TV. They had all ordered subs, Peters smushed down of course. Happy quickly caught up with Millie before coming to sit down with the two. It almost felt as though it was three years ago again. No tension present at all. 

“So Peter,” Tony began, shifting in his seat, “Where are you living?”

“Oh-uh, I live on the same street, just on the other side. I’ve managed to jump jobs, but ever since I started being Spider-Man again, I can’t make it all the time. I’ve been fired more than a couple times, but I have managed to stay at my current job for a while. It’s with the Daily Bugle. They kind of hate Spider-Man, but I have to make my money somehow,” Peter assured.

Tony nodded, Peter unknowing of his already forming plans to give him a job. “You’re always welcome to come back to SI,” Tony offers, but not touching too much on it, knowing all too well how this conversation went last time. He decided to change the subject. “Do you have a girl? Or- ya know- a boy? That’d be cool too.”

Peter took a bite of his sub as he shook his head, “nope nobody. I guess it’s just not something that I’ve thought about. School, work, and all the chaos has just prevented me from getting close to people again.” He bowed his head slightly in shame, but not before Happy chimed in.

“Hey Pete, we get it. Tony and I were both so busy during our school years that we just avoided people. Well- not Tony. He attracted people, but he never stayed with them,” Happy raised his eyebrows towards the man.

“Yeah… not my best days,” Tony admitted. 

Suddenly the bell jingled again and a group of people walked in. None of the three thought anything of it. That is, until Millie gasped loudly. They all whipped their heads around to face the noise, only the find a gun pointed right at Millie’s head. 

Without warning, Peter shot up out of his seat faster than either of the men could comprehend. Tony immediately started fumbling with his watch.

“Shit,” Tony exclaimed quietly, “I don’t have the suit trigger in my arm anymore and I took the nanobots out of my reactor yesterday. The nearest suit is 5 minutes away.”

Peter simply looked at Tony before turning a determined glare back at the four men. They all had large bullet proof vests on that somehow went unnoticed before and handguns with silencers on them. They all stood in a manner that screamed ‘trained’. With their feet planted and their shoulders square. 

One of their eyes caught Peter’s glare when a faint “no” was heard on Peter’s part. His stance faltered for a second before returning just as confident. One hand shot up and shot a web at the gun pointed at Millie. He ripped it away easily before three more guns were trained on him. Without hesitation, Peter was on the ceiling and crawling fast. Honestly, Tony has forgotten how odd it looked and how much he didn’t miss it. 

“Friday, ETA?”

“ _ About 2 minutes, boss.” _

Peter dropped down onto one of the men, knocking him to the ground. He then turned around and grabbed one of the men’s arms as the other swung at him. He twisted the man's arm and sent him flying over one of the bars and onto the floor. As the other was about to take a swing, Peter flung himself around and punched him to the ground. 

The last one had managed to get all the way across the deli. He had a small device in his hand with a bright red button. As he clicked the red button, Peter crumbled to the floor, grabbing his head. Screams ripped through the deli like a bullet through paper. 

“FRI WHERE THE HELL IS MY SUIT!?”

“Approaching in 3… 2… 1…”

The suit came crashing through the windows and right on to Tony. It caused him to stumble back a little bit due to forgetting how harsh the suit flies. Almost immediately, though, he tried to find the frequency of what he assumed to be sound waves.

“FRI why can’t I counteract the sound waves that are coming from the device?” Tony questioned as he started to run at the man with the device.

“It seems as though they aren’t soundwaves boss, but rather electromagnetic waves.” 

_ Wait what the hell?, _ Tony thought as he sent a blast at the man, essentially knocking him out,  _ that shouldn’t be doing anything to him. _

As soon as Tony picked up the device, he pushed the off button. Peters thrashing and now faint whines had calmed down. He noticed though that there wasn’t any logo or symbols on the device. This means that it’s either illegal, made locally by a single person, or both. Tony snapped out of his thoughts as he heard Happy run to Peter.

“Peter, oh my gosh. Are you okay?” Happy began to lift Peter up by his shoulders. Tony ran over to aid the man, only to notice the blood in Peter’s ears. How did they know his weaknesses? Why, of all places, would they rob this old deli? The only thing he can think of is that they have some sort of tabs on either himself or Peter.

They picked the spiderling off the floor, but instead of answering, he looked around, confused. It was then that Tony realized that Peter couldn’t hear him. So, instead of freaking out like he was on the inside, he took Peter’s hand and simply led him out of the deli. Happy stayed behind, probably to explain things to Millie before he left.

He had to get Peter to Bruce or Cho stat. He didn’t know if his hearing was permanently damaged. Or how the robbers even knew exactly how to take down Peter. Plus, the whole ordeal with the electromagnetic waves instead of sound waves. That shouldn’t affect Peter. The only way it could is if…

_ Oh shit. _

* * *

 

Ned was in his living room, making macaroni and cheese (as one does), when he saw the news station. 

_ TONY STARK ATTACKED AT LOCAL DELI _

That, however, was not what surprised him. What did surprise him though, was the boy standing next to Tony Stark in the shaking recording of the event. It was Peter. Like, Peter-used-to-be-his-best-friend-and-the-best-person-he-knows-Parker.

His appearance wasn’t what Ned would have wanted it to be. He had blood dripping from his ears and his hair was a mess. He stood about an inch or two above Tony which Ned had never realized. His eyes still held the same tired and old look, but there was some life back in them. Other than that, he seemed to be in fine shape.

Ned has tried to keep up with him in high school, even after the whole ordeal that nobody talks about. But every time he would talk to him, Peter would just slowly back away and make up some stupid excuse about how he has to go. MJ had even pointed it out one time, but Peter just looked down at the floor and made another excuse. 

The only thing that really kept Peter and Ned around each other was Academic Decathlon. Peter drowned himself in his school work and moved to mostly AP classes. Hell, the whole end of senior year, Ned hasn’t seen him at all. He later found out that his Aunt May had died around the time that he stopped seeing him.

The last time he had truly seen him and heard him speak was his valedictorian speech. The other people in school never really paid much attention to him, so they didn’t see the way he was. The way that his eyes were completely glazed over. Ned didn’t see Peter, he saw a shell of someone that could have been. 

Since then, Ned has tried to contact him many times, but fell short every time. He didn’t have any way of getting to him. He might have even asked people on the streets to look out for him. Ned knew he was okay though because Spider-Man had began to swing around the city again.

It sucked mostly when Ned had stopped and saw Spider-Man fighting a super villain on the street. Knowing that the person he had been searching for for so long was so close, but so unreachable. He even swore that they’d made eye contact at one point, but again, Peter drowned himself in whatever he was doing. 

So when he saw Peter on that tv, his first reaction was dropping the spoon into the pot of Mac and cheese. His mouth dropped and, he would risk his manhood to say this, he started crying. His hand fumbled for his phone and he dialed a number faster than he’s ever moved before.

There was an almost immediate click.

_ “What do you want, Ned? ...don’t tell me you have another conspiracy theory.”  _ The almost annoyed, but curious voice came over the speaker.

“No, MJ. I found Peter,” Ned revealed, almost panting from adrenaline.

_ “Oh my god. Stay there, I’m coming.” _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ngl I had so much troubling laying out this chapter. Idek if I like it all that much, but I have a serious mixed reaction. Also, Happy’s niece is named Millie because when I started this chapter, I was in the play Thoroughly Modern Millie at my school. Her personality reminded me of Millie.

**Author's Note:**

> If you enjoyed this, please leave a comment! Constructive Criticism is welcome, along with other comments!


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